CCA Bulletin 18/10

July 12, 2010

Arts, Culture and a National Digital Strategy

Just the facts

In a brief filed as part of the nation-wide consultation launched last May, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) urges the government to make content creation a centrepiece of the national strategy for the digital economy. The consultation, which was due to end on July 9, has been extended to July 13, midnight.

The CCA’s fundamental approach to a national strategy is based on the belief that infrastructure, wires, cables and corporations will not be enough to sustain a robust digital economy, let alone a vibrant digital society, if content creators are not included in this strategy. Canada’s digital economy relies on the expertise of its creative workers. Their content creation must be encouraged by a national strategy, protected by regulations, supported by appropriate training and distributed on as many digital platforms as possible.

There are four main issues that the CCA believes should be considered in forming a national strategy for a digital economy:

Foreign ownership: In order to form a prosperous digital economy and society, Canada must retain ownership of its cultural industries, telecommunications and digital content.

Intellectual property: Our creators want to share their stories on the largest possible platforms – and that includes the digital realm. However, creators must do so in the safety of knowing that they will be paid for the use of their products, whether solely online, or in the transfer of their product to other exported media outlets.

Canadian communities: The strategy must provide tools to communities, particularly to smaller urban centres and to our rural and Northern communities. Digital infrastructure, access to federal programs and content creation must have a community-based focus for a holistic digital economy structure.

Training for creators: As a nation, we must invest in knowledge transfer programs and apprenticeships as well as in the constant renewal of professional skills in cultural industries and in the arts.

Tell me more

The CCA considers that this consultation is most important for Canadians and that the preoccupations it raises go well beyond the economy. The CCA feels that the scope of the reflection should be broadened to include the development of a national strategy for a Canadian digital society. Conversations so far have been largely dominated by preoccupations with investments in infrastructure, bit rates and accessibility to Canadians as consumers. Though building adequate infrastructure is an important component of a digital strategy, the CCA believes that ensuring the availability of quality Canadian content on new distribution platforms is an objective that requires equal attention. A national strategy must ensure the presence of Canadian content in order for the infrastructure to bear meaning to Canadians and reflect them as a bilingual nation with increasingly diversified cultural sources.

Though investing in the cultural sector may seem less concrete than investing in infrastructure, software or manufacturing, it is a sector which has proven to give strong returns on government funds. The sector continually evolves in order to increase its presence within Canada, but also to build robust digital audiences around the world.

The contribution made by Canadian artists and creators goes beyond economic factors. Our cultural expressions contribute to our identity as a nation and to our reputation on the international stage. Culture provides support to our foreign policy and trade objectives. Additionally, the increasing diversity of our population offers a unique opportunity for Canada to leverage this precious natural resource to make a really distinctive impression in the world.

Many cultural industries and institutions already works digitally: film, television, music, new media, publishing and museums have all embraced new technologies and explored new business models. Their future successes depend not only on their flexibility and inventiveness, but also on the support the government can provide through all of the instruments at its disposal, be it investments in production, regulation, taxation or training.

The CCA insists on the importance of retaining Canadian ownership and effective control of our cultural industries and telecommunications. Over the past two decades, Canada has allowed a growing concentration of ownership in our cultural industries in the name of making them stronger and better equipped to compete in a global environment. We now have huge Canadian conglomerates with interests in telecommunications, broadcasting, specialty services, newspapers and magazines, publishing, music and book distribution. Given this concentration of ownership and the convergence of technologies, opening up foreign ownership and control of our telecommunications can only lead to tremendous pressures to enable a similar model in cable and broadcasting. Coupled with the potential impact of trade negotiations, this could result in severe consequences for Canadian cultural sovereignty. Like the Chair of the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein, the CCA believes that it is virtually impossible to change foreign ownership rules in telecoms and shield the broadcasting sector from the consequences of doing so.

The development of a meaningful digital strategy must occur in tandem with new copyright policy. Canada’s decision makers must recognize the importance of our creators’ intellectual property and develop a digital landscape which fosters creation, expression, dissemination and protection. Our creators want to share their stories on the largest possible platform – and that includes the digital realm. However, creators must do so in the safety of knowing that they will be paid for the use of their products, whether solely online, or in the transfer of their product to other exported media outlets.

In June, the government tabled for first reading in the House of Commons Bill C-32, an Act to modernize the Canadian Copyright Act. The CCA agrees with the fairly unanimous reaction on the artists' and performers' side which stipulates that this bill does nothing to support Canadian creators by making private copying legal without any form of fair compensation for artists and by extending exemptions while killing the private copying levy.

A national digital strategy must include space for funding and returns for Canada’s communities. This strategy cannot be focused around the sole economic contribution of large urban centres and the return to shareholders of Internet and wireless service providers. We must also acknowledge the importance of empowering Canadians to use the infrastructure they will end up financing. The strategy must provide tools to smaller urban centres and to our rural and Northern communities.

This is why the CCA fully supports the proposal of the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) currently in front of the CRTC for decision. This proposal is a well-thought out plan which could implement a key component of the national digital economy. The creation of approximately 250 multi-media community centres as proposed by CACTUS is very much in tune with the current technological and social environment Canadians live in. This approach has been recognized by other countries as central to a coherent digital strategy, notably by the European Union and the U.S.

At the same time, such centres would contribute significantly to the diversity of voices in Canadian society, a key objective of the Broadcasting Act and a pressing preoccupation in an environment characterized by a high concentration of traditional media. Multi-media centres and the training programs attached to them would empower ordinary citizens, particularly the younger and older generations. They would provide the local arts, heritage and education communities with an important grassroots tool to, amongst other things, sensitize Canadians to the importance of culture in their lives.

Finally, artists and cultural workers must be able to evolve and adapt their training and employment needs given this flexible and innovative economy. With a retiring cadre of professionals in Canada’s short-term future, we must invest in knowledge transfer programs, mentorships and apprenticeships in cultural industries and in the arts.

Moreover, in an ever-changing technological environment, it is crucial that like other workers in the creative economy, artists keep their skills up to date (e.g. motion capture for performers and 3-D technologies for camera operators and cinematographers). Since an overwhelming number of artists are self employed, they do not currently qualify for existing programs. They are nonetheless an important component of the creative economy and it is crucial that the government recognizes that fact by investing in various training programs so that artists can contribute fully in this new environment. A well-trained creative workforce is a resource which will never run dry.

What can I do?

Make sure the government and the three Ministers directly concerned, James Moore, Tony Clement and Diane Finley, hear loud and clear from artists and content creators what is needed to ensure that Canadians have access to their own culture in the digital environment. Also, don’t miss an opportunity to sensitize your own MP.

What are your priorities for the national digital strategy? Comment on our blog!